Hand hygiene knowledge and perceptions among anesthesia providers

Area of Science:

• Healthcare epidemiology
• Infection prevention and control
• Medical education

Background:

• Health care worker compliance with hand hygiene is crucial for preventing health care-associated infections.
• Low compliance rates persist across various health care settings.
• Understanding knowledge deficits among anesthesia providers can inform targeted improvement strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize knowledge deficits in hand hygiene among anesthesia providers.
• To identify predictors associated with incomplete hand hygiene knowledge in this population.

Main Methods:

• A modified survey instrument assessed anesthesia provider knowledge of the 5 moments for hand hygiene.
• Complete knowledge was defined as 5 correct answers; incomplete knowledge was defined as 1 or more incorrect answers.
• Multilevel logistic regression models identified predictors of incomplete knowledge.

Main Results:

• 81.6% of respondents exhibited one or more knowledge deficits regarding hand hygiene.
• Common deficits included failure to recognize hand hygiene opportunities after patient or environmental contact.
• Factors associated with reduced incomplete knowledge included positive attitudes towards hand hygiene and environmental disinfection.

Conclusions:

• Anesthesia providers frequently demonstrate knowledge deficits in hand hygiene, particularly concerning recognition of contamination risks.
• Intraoperative hand hygiene improvement programs should address identified knowledge gaps.
• Further studies are needed to validate predictors of incomplete knowledge.